We know that NBA Live 15 won't be coming out on PC, and we also know from talking to Sean O'Brien that a return isn't imminent. Sean gave us an honest answer to that question when we chatted to him in Episode #90 of the Podcast, and it basically comes down to rebuilding the brand and making it successful, then exploring what other platforms it can support. Right now, the target audience is on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PC being a niche of a niche as we've discussed in other threads, but hopefully there can be a return to the PC platform one day.

Looking at NBA 2K15 PC, I think we can conclude a few things about basketball gaming on the PC.

First of all, people do want to play basketball games on the PC. The interest is definitely there, though again, we're a smaller group compared to the console gamers.

People do have the systems to run a port of a PS4/X1 game, or are willing to upgrade. Optimisation is another issue altogether, but thankfully, it doesn't seem like we have too many people wanting to run the game on Pentium 3 1.1 GHz rigs or anything like that.

PC gamers will still buy a digital-only release, even if they aren't particularly thrilled about a 40-50 GB download. I think most would agree that it's better than a previous gen port, a stripped down release, or indeed, no PC version at all.

So if a time comes where a PC version of NBA Live is feasible, what does everyone think about the possibility of it being digital-only, with Origin integration? Unless EA has scrapped Origin by that point, I'd suggest that a Steam release is not going to happen.

For my part, it wouldn't be ideal - I prefer Steam, and a disc version would be nice for those whose connections/download limits would struggle with such a large download - but if that's what it took to have a PC release, then so be it. With my interest in seeing a PC release of NBA Live again, I would prefer that situation to no release at all. I could get on board with it.

I think all games should be available on as many platforms as possible.

I have no problems with Origin. Wish I could have all my games on one client, since that's not a possibility, Origin would not deter me from purchasing a game. The game being good or not would be the deciding factor.

I think it goes without saying that to want to buy the game on any platform, it needs to impress. To rephrase the question: If you were interested in buying NBA Live in the future, and you wanted to do so on PC, would Origin integration be a deal-breaker?

For the sake of transparency, I should also note that I'm not asking the question on behalf of EA Sports; I haven't been contacted about gauging the community's interest and feelings on this. It's simply a thought that's occurred to me when we've discussed a desire for a PC release of NBA Live, and I thought it might benefit the PC movement to have the discussion out in the open.

Andrew, excuse my ignorance here, but why would Origin Integration be a deal-breaker? The only EA game I've ever bought for PC is FIFA, which I use Origin to run, and is fully customizable. So, what would make it a deal breaker? Maybe I'm mis-interpreting what Origin Integration is?

Anyway, from the videos I see, I would definitely buy it, as it looks to provide a better Arcade experience, and historically is an easier game to mod than 2K.

I have seen people express frustration/dissatisfaction with Origin before, so I thought it might be an angle worth covering. A digital only release is also something worth discussing, since not everyone was keen on that approach with NBA 2K15.

I don't think for any NBA Live fan that wanted a PC release, that Origin integration would be a deal-breaker for a single one of them. Origin is bad, but if there's a game on Origin that people wanna play, they're gonna deal with the suckiness of Origin to play the game.

Hard copy is a Hard copyWould love to play live on pc again but ONLY hard copy

Digital only make users less private

All men dream: but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.This I did.

TBM wrote:How does digital make users less private? And private from what?

from all mateif friend stops by to play with me we dont have to use services that origin/steam offerinsert disc and play is something special.. not gaming catalog that you use only connected

maybe in england-france-italy there is internet on every corner but not here

we are gamers but not catalog gamers but core ones

All men dream: but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.This I did.

I know I certainly take having wireless internet everywhere humanly possible here in the US for granted.

Serbia mate

All men dream: but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.This I did.

One of the main reasons for not releasing on PC, true or not, is that the market is not big enough for certain games, so it's not worth the manufacturing cost. This is where digital content should, in theory, compensate for that. If you want games on PC, you should be happy that there is a way for the developers to get a game out without incurring those costs. Whatever issues you have with digital content, I think it certainly is better than the alternative of no game at all.

chicagoRAW wrote:One of the main reasons for not releasing on PC, true or not, is that the market is not big enough for certain games, so it's not worth the manufacturing cost. This is where digital content should, in theory, compensate for that. If you want games on PC, you should be happy that there is a way for the developers to get a game out without incurring those costs. Whatever issues you have with digital content, I think it certainly is better than the alternative of no game at all.

Agreed. I actually find myself preferring to buy digitally these days, now that I have a better Internet connection and larger download limit than I used to.

Origin is fine. Too many people whinge simply because they want all of their games in the one place but that is not a valid argument as to why Origin sucks.

It loads quicker and runs smoother than Steam, friends lists are easier to use and don't require a separate pop up window, it has a game guarantee where if you aren't happy for any reason you can get a refund within 24hrs of purchase.

Now in terms of Live wanting to establish itself again, I think 15 will have accomplished a big step towards this.

What Sean O'Brien didn't seem to acknowledge is that having the product on more platforms helps achieve that automatically. Plus, with the large modding community and general popularity of any PC game with great modding support, the brand would receive a huge boost from a PC release.

So in saying that, if Live 16 doesn't release on PC, I'd be pretty shocked and very disappointed with EA. Especially with FIFA being huge on Origin and now having the next gen version. It's a no-brainer.

I would like to see live on pc, as I have not purchased a console since getting ps2, xbox, and gamecube. I love basketball gaming and I love what you can do with games on the PC. I haven't used origin before so I'm not sure how I would feel in that regard. I was disappointed about live only being released on Steam and no disc version.

Now that I am an established adult with a good job, I can afford to spend the money on NBA Live so I hope they do consider a PC release when they are ready.

I buy games on pc digitally only anyways, so thats no problem if nba live would be releason on origin only.Porting games from newest consoles to pc is much easier than on previous generation consoles, so I think even small pc fanbase would be an extra for the franchise.

TheTud wrote:I buy games on pc digitally only anyways, so thats no problem if nba live would be releason on origin only.Porting games from newest consoles to pc is much easier than on previous generation consoles, so I think even small pc fanbase would be an extra for the franchise.

Except you have to pay PC developers, so it's not like you turn a profit even if you only sell a few copies.

I'm guessing a couple of people might have voted no because they're not interested in NBA Live at all at this juncture, though the question is intended to present a scenario to people who are interested in the game and would like (or prefer) a PC release.